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If that's what you're good at it, I don't see why you shouldn't try. Besides, in a slice of life scenario, it's still possible to explore important themes, such as the social repercussions of IS on the fabric of society. I can imagine this engineer fellow being treated something like a second-class citizen, even though it's his job to help maintain and develop new equipment for IS. Mechanics fix things. Engineers try to improve on things or make brand new stuff, ya know?]

I'm actually working on the fic and character profiles right now.
I'll probably post it here when I'm done (if there's somewhere better to post this let me know)
And thanks for the encouragement.

P.S, anyone joining the EMDAS competition?
If so, I'll be seeing you in the field of battle.

About Variable Combined Arms:
- Variable Combine Arms was once an active concept while developing the various types of IS we see today. Basically, the IS transforms between it’s powered suit form and a flying form that can outperform any modern air-superiority fighter or IS unit. Unfortunately, as time passed and the Treaty was being enforced, such a system would be unneeded, and it was far more easier to maintain the basic suit-type IS rather than complex piece of work the VCA-IS was.

Subsystems:

Sensors: “Hawkeye” Audio/Visual HyperSensor Suite - Later versions and variations of this will appear on some Sniper-Profiled IS units.

Defense: “Berbania Fortress” Barrier System - Considered one of the toughest First Generation (1G) IS Protection System, it was rather easily broken by other 1G Barrier Cancels and outclassed by Second and Third Generation IS Barrier Cancel Attacks- but on a routine fight, it would hold nicely, coupled with its high speed and dodge.

Mobility: “Adarna” Variable Combined Arms System - The centerpiece of the whole suit, this system transforms the suit to a flight mode, which resembles a bird w/ powerful wings and a long rainbow-colored tail, enabling it to move extremely fast and agile. Note that the pilot cannot land while in flight mode.

Integrity: It uses standard IS technology on this part.

Offense:

“Rainbow Wing” Twin Kinetic/Anti-Field Blade - Twin blades that are the “wingtip feathers” of the unit. Instead of the usual energy blade to cancel barriers, the IS’ barrier energy is redirected on the surface of these blades, creating a hybrid blade that can deal 2 types of damage in a single strike. The barrier on the blades also give the weapon it’s characteristic rainbow sheen.

“Cursed Songs” Sonic Emission System - a system of 7-kinds of sonic emitters that each emit a kind of sonic emission that can produce various effects on targets.

A: the most basic of the emitters, which and project powerful sonic blasts, usually fixed forward.
B: an emitter that can be aimed around, and project a focused stream of irritating sound to the target.
C: an all-around multi-frequency sonic pulse emitter that is used to deter any incoming missiles or enemy- stunning them. Called the “screamer” as it sounds like a scream when it is activated.
D: an ultra-low frequency emitter that can shake targets w/ resonance. When used in a certain manner, it can create mini-quakes.
E: the so-called “Lullaby”, it can cause anyone who can hear it, except the pilot or anyone wearing the proper ear protection or have done some resistance training, drowsiness and eventually, sleep. Can only be used with permission and also depletes the barrier while activated.
F: a special emitter that is used during flight mode. amplifies the sonic boom that it becomes the weapon.
G: an inverse phase emitter that projects the inverse frequency of any sound that may be perceived as an attack. rarely used.

Only problem is that why would a male character appear on IS campus if he can't pilot one of those things.

And Phantom Task gives me plenty of reason to pull a dark one on the plot.

As for RPing, I was thinking of running one on Spacebattles, just that no one there seemed to know about IS in the first place...

it would be interesting to have male and female who do not plot i.s to pop out in the school. they can range from being engineers, partners (like they have in rally racing)"feeding you info about the person while ur in a race or fight" , can also jsut be student who want to learn about i.s (as for that part it could be a lot of reason why. rich family. maybe they are really smart . or so on. but yeah u can have non i.s student there i think it will give it a nice twist. just work on why they are there.

Magi was unloading several ACs from his Garage, 5 ACs stood before him with their armor refurbished and ready for combat. All the weapons are kept inside a container...Magi was carrying a duffel bag with his personal stash and belongings. As a couple of engineers loaded the goods into a Hangar. A female figured appeared...a woman in her early 20's. He remembed his operators, all female and not averse to flirting. But she was different from the rest of them...

"So you making yourself comfortable here? Commander Gettysburg?" She was asking Magi...

"I have read the contract Ms.Orimura, our corporation is paying the to house our assets here for a 3 year contract...I personally wanted to be placed somewhere else. But given the state of the world..." His sentenced was completed by the

"Which your corporation's stolen assets are responsible for. over the last 2 weeks. new weapons known as Muscle tracers have been wrecking havoc against several military assets. So far they are positioned in known conflict zones. But apparently they are not worth of the attention of the IS. So the government brought in you to do the dirty work."

"I admire the IS, a marvel of military technology. Powered Armor with the hitting power of several ACs...I have saw your handiwork in the rescue of your little brother. I would fight you in a duel but given your reputation and skill and the "code" that Ravens live by. I would pass on that, I am here to make money and fame...not get killed." Magi smugly said as the remainder of the assets were loaded to the garage.

"Well, I will leave you to your duties, Gettysburg. Maybe I will introduce you to my kid brother, he needs a good male figure to look up to."

"Ichika Orimura...the former lucky bastard of this world..."

A day later...

Magi finally had some free time after unpacking his belongings to the AC garage and went around the Campus with his AC ready for launch. Crest managed to secure some tech which will allow transportation of his mech easier. But as soon as he went out, he was swarmed by several first years.

"It's Magi the Raven!" Several girls were squealing...his appearance on campus is like a rich university kid with the influence of a celebrity...almost rivalled by Ichika.

"Well, I will damned...a bunch of fangirls out for my blood!" He stopped and prepared himself for the fangirl swarm...

"Magi, tell me more about what is a Raven like?"

"Magi, what do you do on your free time?"

|"What weapons does the AC pack?"

So much noise...and so much respect, time to act cool.

"Hey, everyone can get on the Magical Express, one question, one anwser." He said as the girls wait for his anwsers...

"Well, for the first one. I can say being a Raven is more dangerous than being an IS pilot. We don't get ejector seats and are expected to fight to the death in every battle. I never run, if I am going to die. I hope you come to my funeral.

Second anwser, I enjoy DJing, driving fast cars and going to the range.

Lastly, an AC can use almost type of weapon a Raven wants for their mission. We can go full range or stylishly melee the enemy. But I will show you what a Raven can do soon enough. So ladies, may I start getting your dorm numbers?"

Several girls were crowding to write their numbers on his black book when Ichika arrived to see the commotion.

"So that's the kid brother she was talking about..."

To be continued...

__________________

Old McDonald had a farm...Eyey Eyey O...And on his farm he had a Khzithak...Eyey Eyey O...With a ARHHFAHHAAAAAAAAARRRGIIIAAA HELP AAAUUU HELP! IT'S GNAWING OFF MY...

I am going to assume English isn't your first language, judging by the various grammatical errors I have found. By some miracle, you managed to avoid the bullet of spelling mistakes, or I would have contracted an apoplectic seizure, I think.

You, my friend, need a beta-reader and some self-study to help fix your English, and you need to peruse through more fiction, period, to improve your storytelling capabilities. I can help with the former, but the latter... There is no way easy way to it. Everyone learns their own way of telling a story. Some people like books, others movies, others comics, etc., but really, it's about absorbing all the culture you see around you and disseminating it into a written form that seems to have a method to its madness (AKA narrative style), rather than being roughly strung together blurbs of thought.

Rhyme and reason, yeah?

As is, I'd rate you a low C. It was kinda enjoyable, I guess. Negative marks on Ichika's sister being out of character, and shoddy execution to why / how Ichika comes to meet Magi. Positive marks for effort guts. Hey, at least you gave it a shot, and I can sorta see the vision you have for this "World". Alas, your voice is still lacking and immature.

Now, by all means, do continue to give it your best, but don't forget to take the criticism to heart. Otherwise, you're never going to improve your abilities as a fiction writer.

If you like, I can submit you via PM a revised edition of this drabble, with the bare minimum of edits to bring it up to basic spec. I am not trying to railroad you here, bro. I am trying to show you the kinds of things you need to be thinking about when you write your scenes.

Alignment (good/evil/chaotic/lawful etc...) : Lawful good. Inclines to Chaotic Good from time to time.

Personality : By the book. The underclassman after 1-1 moves to 2-1. Looks up to Houki as an older sister, who takes her in and proclaims her as a younger sister. After mysterious 4th-gen mass-production IS-es attacked the IS Academy and knocked her into a coma, she was the major in-between that tore up Houki and Ichika's relationship. Regains consciousness during the 2nd attack on the IS Academy.

Mech : Starwright. Short-Intermediate and extreme-long range combat type. It is useless at midrange and regular long range due to limitations of acceleration and weapon range, giving her a huge gap in combat with certain IS types.

Can be upgraded with the Cosmic Shroud pack, which adds 3x Moonfang homing laser-bladed boomerangs. Can be further equipped with the prototype Magaru Maser, which requires intense mental focus to charge up. Should the user break focus during the charging time, the cannon feedbacks the energy from the reactor through the IS, possibly killing the pilot. Later gives the Magaru to Houki to defend the IS Academy from a super-IS.

Background (What hole did he/she crawl out of) : Singapore Metropolis. Left the city to be an IS pilot after graduating from middle school. Mother is an IS commander who died in the First IS conflict.

Anything else you can think of : Singapore sank underwater due to global warming and an artificial city is built above what is left of the dry land. It is renamed The Metropolis. State-owned government enterprises but runs like a giant megacorporation.

In actuality, there are 4 Moonfang units on the CS pack. One of them is lost due to reasons Rachel refuses to reveal. Also, the Magaru is a joint development project by the Japanese and Metropolis scientists, after firing once, the project is entirely cancelled for reasons unknown. There is only one Magaru built, but suddenly went missing. Later it was found that the board of the project decided to give it to Rachel in memory of her mother, then deleting everything off the records so as to keep her safe. Two of the deputy directors who were handling the data deletion committed suicide so as to further protect the secret, and one of them is Cecilia's relative.

Initially, she was on extremely bad terms with Charlotte due to the fact that the latter's father was involved in the development of Magaru, and Rachel blames Charlotte for causing her mother's death. Charlotte herself does not know this initially until told, and this further deepens her doubt of her own father.

During the attack on the IS Academy, she charged up the Magaru to defend her dorm-mates suiting onto their IS-es, but was hit in the back by a missile blast and knocked to the ground. Her loss of focus at that moment caused the Magaru to feedback the charge through her IS, electrocuting her.

Rachel also holds a fascination for astronomy. She is able to remember all the names of the moons of every planet, and she wishes to visit space one day.

She looks up to Houki as an older sister due to near similar personalities. Though a little too obsessively. On the contrary, she is never taken seriously by anyone she meets in the Academy due to her loli looks. And subsequently, all her seniors treat her like a little sister, taking her out shopping and dressing her up like a doll (the idiot trio of 2-1 and her classmates calls it "cosplaying"), which she detests. Other than Houki, of course.

Quotes :

Haven't you realised that boomerangs can fly backwards too?

It will be alright! Third time is a charm!

Houki-neesan! Please don't tell me you are infatuated with that bum!

A guy and a girl sleeping together in the same room? That's, that's indecent!

Houki-nee! You.....you eat the Taiyaki from the gill cover???

The blade can't be seen, but it can be felt. FEEL MY WRATH!

__________________

When three puppygirls named after pastries are on top of each other, it is called Eclair a'la menthe et Biscotti aux fraises avec beaucoup de Ricotta sur le dessus.
Most of all, you have to be disciplined and you have to save, even if you hate our current financial system. Because if you don't save, then you're guaranteed to end up with nothing.

I am going to assume English isn't your first language, judging by the various grammatical errors I have found. By some miracle, you managed to avoid the bullet of spelling mistakes, or I would have contracted an apoplectic seizure, I think.

You, my friend, need a beta-reader and some self-study to help fix your English, and you need to peruse through more fiction, period, to improve your storytelling capabilities. I can help with the former, but the latter... There is no way easy way to it. Everyone learns their own way of telling a story. Some people like books, others movies, others comics, etc., but really, it's about absorbing all the culture you see around you and disseminating it into a written form that seems to have a method to its madness (AKA narrative style), rather than being roughly strung together blurbs of thought.

Rhyme and reason, yeah?

As is, I'd rate you a low C. It was kinda enjoyable, I guess. Negative marks on Ichika's sister being out of character, and shoddy execution to why / how Ichika comes to meet Magi. Positive marks for effort guts. Hey, at least you gave it a shot, and I can sorta see the vision you have for this "World". Alas, your voice is still lacking and immature.

Now, by all means, do continue to give it your best, but don't forget to take the criticism to heart. Otherwise, you're never going to improve your abilities as a fiction writer.

If you like, I can submit you via PM a revised edition of this drabble, with the bare minimum of edits to bring it up to basic spec. I am not trying to railroad you here, bro. I am trying to show you the kinds of things you need to be thinking about when you write your scenes.

It's the six P's: Proper Planning Prevents P*** Poor Performance.

Ja?

It tends to happen, I know I am not a great writer anyways. And my greatest weakness is portray the personality of others. I am more comfortable working on my own characters than with other members of the cast.

Spoiler for Origin Story: Empyrean:

"Alright, here's the mission from Vertex..."

A map shows it was pointed somewhat in the Balkans.

"A MT attack team recently broken into a military base we designated "Station Alpha", your mission is to get in there and eliminate the MTs and any opposition in the area. "

Several MT Models are shown

"You got your work cut out for you, as you may know they are attacking in MT88s, Crest MT models which are highlighted for their durability. But I am sure you can handle them."

The screen turns back to the Vertex Logo.

"This assignment will prove that ACs are an excellent alternative to the lewd looking powered armor called Infinite Stratos. We are expecting top notch performance from you..."

The screen flicks off...

Somewhere in the Balkans

"Alright, that's the target area we are dropping you off at, your objectives are clear: Take out all hostiles and do it before the IS arrives, the Mirage AC "Prophet" will be loaned out to you for this mission. Complete the mission and it will be yours to keep."

"What's up with Vertex's generosity? They are pretty desperate to give me a 3rd Generation AC, this thing is pretty good though. Despite being a lightweight AC, it has the firepower of a Tank, a Pixie-3 Machinegun with a Fairy-Submachine gun as the main weapons while equipped with dual Nymphs. Forget Prophet this should be called "Fairy Dust...wait the mission is starting. THIS IS EMPYREAN! ENGAGING HOSTILE FORCES!

MAIN SYSTEM ENGAGING COMBAT MODE!

__________________

Old McDonald had a farm...Eyey Eyey O...And on his farm he had a Khzithak...Eyey Eyey O...With a ARHHFAHHAAAAAAAAARRRGIIIAAA HELP AAAUUU HELP! IT'S GNAWING OFF MY...

For over X years, Manila-based STRATOMAG (“ISMAG” in common nomenclature)(yes in all caps) is the number one authority of all things IS, from the frames, pilots and the personalities that associate with it, becoming a major driving force that shifted public perception of IS from fear, to cult status. With an estimated reader base of about 85% of the world’s population, ISMAG is one of the most popular magazines in the world, with a monthly publishing turnover of over 50million copies and over 5billion downloads.

Though initially/primarily a Men’s Lifestyle Magazine, it has turned into pop mag of sorts, with equal readership across genders.And ISMAG, like all Men’s Lifestyle Magazines, features lots of girls in it’s publications- but it primarily showcases Representative Pilots and Pilot Candidates from all over the world- as well as some students of the Academy, often in alluring attire with or without their IS active. It also features other segments that are common in similar men’s lifestyle magazines- that includes “advice” among many other things.

Since the magazine’s source material is special, they have the privilege of having some presence in the IS Academy, a feat no other IS-related mag has even come close. It also has the distinction of being one of the Founding and Primary Sponsors of the famed Mondo Grosso Tournments. As with such distinctions and privileges, many an aspiring writer, photographer or anyone that can work, try and apply for the many positions that are open- as there is never enough material or employees to do it.

But as with such position and popularity, it also has it’s limitations. In exchange for exclusive access to the IS Academy, the Magazine’s staff have restricted movement- save for the Gerard himself, who gets free reign in exchange for allowing certain sensitive articles and pictures to be filtered by the Academy Management- more specifically, through the eyes of Chifuyu Orimura, who has the distinction of being the most showcased IS pilot of the Magazine so far- highly contributing to the insane numbers of fanboys that can’t help but drool and fangirls who try to enroll in the academy just to see her- much to her dismay- rumors have it that Gerard has a “special set” of Chifuyu’s pictures- which she promptly found and destroyed.

As of current, the Magazine has an increased presence in the Academy- including Gerard himself, preparing for the interview of a lifetime- one on one with Ichika Orimura.

IF... they can get hold of him- as the current situation prevents them from doing so.

- I need actual dates/years of the Series and when IS were first developed.

- Now accepting questions for our one-on-one interview with Gerard - PM me with them

Alignment (good/evil/chaotic/lawful etc...) : Lawful good. Inclines to Chaotic Good from time to time.

Personality : By the book. The underclassman after 1-1 moves to 2-1. Looks up to Houki as an older sister, who takes her in and proclaims her as a younger sister. After mysterious 4th-gen mass-production IS-es attacked the IS Academy and knocked her into a coma, she was the major in-between that tore up Houki and Ichika's relationship. Regains consciousness during the 2nd attack on the IS Academy.

Mech : Starwright. Short-Intermediate and extreme-long range combat type. It is useless at midrange and regular long range due to limitations of acceleration and weapon range, giving her a huge gap in combat with certain IS types.

Can be upgraded with the Cosmic Shroud pack, which adds 3x Moonfang homing laser-bladed boomerangs. Can be further equipped with the prototype Magaru Maser, which requires intense mental focus to charge up. Should the user break focus during the charging time, the cannon feedbacks the energy from the reactor through the IS, possibly killing the pilot. Later gives the Magaru to Houki to defend the IS Academy from a super-IS.

Background (What hole did he/she crawl out of) : Singapore Metropolis. Left the city to be an IS pilot after graduating from middle school. Mother is an IS commander who died in the First IS conflict.

Anything else you can think of : Singapore sank underwater due to global warming and an artificial city is built above what is left of the dry land. It is renamed The Metropolis. State-owned government enterprises but runs like a giant megacorporation.

In actuality, there are 4 Moonfang units on the CS pack. One of them is lost due to reasons Rachel refuses to reveal. Also, the Magaru is a joint development project by the Japanese and Metropolis scientists, after firing once, the project is entirely cancelled for reasons unknown. There is only one Magaru built, but suddenly went missing. Later it was found that the board of the project decided to give it to Rachel in memory of her mother, then deleting everything off the records so as to keep her safe. Two of the deputy directors who were handling the data deletion committed suicide so as to further protect the secret, and one of them is Cecilia's relative.

Initially, she was on extremely bad terms with Charlotte due to the fact that the latter's father was involved in the development of Magaru, and Rachel blames Charlotte for causing her mother's death. Charlotte herself does not know this initially until told, and this further deepens her doubt of her own father.

During the attack on the IS Academy, she charged up the Magaru to defend her dorm-mates suiting onto their IS-es, but was hit in the back by a missile blast and knocked to the ground. Her loss of focus at that moment caused the Magaru to feedback the charge through her IS, electrocuting her.

Rachel also holds a fascination for astronomy. She is able to remember all the names of the moons of every planet, and she wishes to visit space one day.

She looks up to Houki as an older sister due to near similar personalities. Though a little too obsessively. On the contrary, she is never taken seriously by anyone she meets in the Academy due to her loli looks. And subsequently, all her seniors treat her like a little sister, taking her out shopping and dressing her up like a doll (the idiot trio of 2-1 and her classmates calls it "cosplaying"), which she detests. Other than Houki, of course.

Quotes :

Haven't you realised that boomerangs can fly backwards too?

It will be alright! Third time is a charm!

Houki-neesan! Please don't tell me you are infatuated with that bum!

A guy and a girl sleeping together in the same room? That's, that's indecent!

Houki-nee! You.....you eat the Taiyaki from the gill cover???

The blade can't be seen, but it can be felt. FEEL MY WRATH!

Hey a fellow Singaporean! Though I'm surprised we both ended up as imouto types. Little Red Dot eh. XD

Both my Merlion and your Megal use a bullpup rifle as a primary too.

And then I have a vague feeling that both our OCs... have the same voice actor. (looks at prototype image forming in photoshop )

Hey a fellow Singaporean! Though I'm surprised we both ended up as imouto types. Little Red Dot eh. XD

Both my Merlion and your Megal use a bullpup rifle as a primary too.

And then I have a vague feeling that both our OCs... have the same voice actor. (looks at prototype image forming in photoshop )

Which world are you running with? Canon or JE's world?

The name of the Mech is Starwright. And it runs on canon series.

There are only 3 VAs which can do Rachel, namely Asami Imai, Rie Kugimiya and Ayanyan. I could factor in Rie Tanaka too, but I think she should be more reserved for mature sounding characters.

With regards to the bullpup, I chose it because it looks cool, but IRL the SAR-21 is a crap weapon (you will know after you served in a coarse-mud/saltwater unit...trust me). I am modelling it so that it has the following specs :

1. The fat handguard with the laser-sight is actually a EM-accelerator coil.2. The LAD is a SACLOS system used for guiding the RPGs, which work with a soft-launch system (two motor propulsion).3. I threw out the scope-carry handle an replaced it with a guidance ACOG. Used for launching the RPG.4. RPGs are launched from the barrel like a rifle grenade, but with its own propulsion system.

Conventional rounds with cartridges are used. 40-round box magazine, can be reloaded with a nanite-reconstructor. RPGs are limited ammo weaponry, however.

That gun can be held by a normal human being wearing regular non-IS powered armor.

__________________

When three puppygirls named after pastries are on top of each other, it is called Eclair a'la menthe et Biscotti aux fraises avec beaucoup de Ricotta sur le dessus.
Most of all, you have to be disciplined and you have to save, even if you hate our current financial system. Because if you don't save, then you're guaranteed to end up with nothing.

It tends to happen, I know I am not a great writer anyways. And my greatest weakness is portray the personality of others. I am more comfortable working on my own characters than with other members of the cast.

Spoiler for Origin Story: Empyrean:

"Alright, here's the mission from Vertex..."

A map shows it was pointed somewhat in the Balkans.

"A MT attack team recently broken into a military base we designated "Station Alpha", your mission is to get in there and eliminate the MTs and any opposition in the area. "

Several MT Models are shown

"You got your work cut out for you, as you may know they are attacking in MT88s, Crest MT models which are highlighted for their durability. But I am sure you can handle them."

The screen turns back to the Vertex Logo.

"This assignment will prove that ACs are an excellent alternative to the lewd looking powered armor called Infinite Stratos. We are expecting top notch performance from you..."

The screen flicks off...

Somewhere in the Balkans

"Alright, that's the target area we are dropping you off at, your objectives are clear: Take out all hostiles and do it before the IS arrives, the Mirage AC "Prophet" will be loaned out to you for this mission. Complete the mission and it will be yours to keep."

"What's up with Vertex's generosity? They are pretty desperate to give me a 3rd Generation AC, this thing is pretty good though. Despite being a lightweight AC, it has the firepower of a Tank, a Pixie-3 Machinegun with a Fairy-Submachine gun as the main weapons while equipped with dual Nymphs. Forget Prophet this should be called "Fairy Dust...wait the mission is starting. THIS IS EMPYREAN! ENGAGING HOSTILE FORCES!

MAIN SYSTEM ENGAGING COMBAT MODE!

.................Okay, characterization issues aside, you clearly are as lost in the sauce as a mook in a dark forest without a map. Are you trying to give us a script for a movie, or are you trying to write a story? If it's the latter, you need to go learn the basics of storytelling, man.

Written fiction is more than just dialogue. You have a setting, tone, pacing, themes, narration, scenes, transitions, descriptors, characters, and vice-versa. The above jargon could have been an actual "Scene" and not bunch of what-have-you dialogue had you taken the time to storyboard and visualize what you are trying to communicate to the reader, then put it into words.

It does not have to be exact to every last nitty, gritty detail, but you need to give us something to work with here. Hell, why do we even care who this Empyrean guy is? What does he look like? What's he wearing? How he's feeling? Where is he when he's receiving this transmission? Etc.

These are the sort of things you need to think about, and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Storytelling is an art form. I don't expect you to "Get it" overnight, but as long as you take what I got to say and try to find out more for yourself, instead of just clinging to lame excuses, you will improve.

Now, let me tell you how I would have executed the material you have just put out.

First off, I'd set the scene by either describing Empyrean's surroundings, or preferably, begin "the moment" with some philosophical / thematic characterization. Anything, really, to get the reader's attention. The former is serviceable but I think the latter is much better.

But, hey, let's go with describing Empyrean's surroundings. Now, assuming this is the first time we're meeting him, I would not have the narrator give away his identity immediately. Instead, he'd be just a pilot inside the cockpit of an AC, which is loaded in the cargo bay of a military transport.

You ever rode in a plane before? Well, start with that and then make the description a lot more ugly and less comfortable, since this is a military aircraft. Doesn't help that an AC's cockpit is awfully cluttered too. Lots of hi-tech, if utilitarian display screens and widgets just blasting you with glare that reflects right in the visor of your helmet.

It's through these screens and the operator barking his ear off that the Raven is receiving his briefing, as the bird is rocked ever so often by turbulence. Idle radio chatter in the background from the air crew on the flight deck. Cockpit's kinda cold too...if you know what I'm saying.

I'd go into even more detail, but I think just from this train of thought, you can imagine what follows naturally. Being airdropped from 20,000+ feet in the air is quite a rush, even if you are inside a 7-meter tall walking death machine, with machineguns and missile launchers.

...Oh, and one more thing, lay off the AC nomenclature for weapons. New readers won't have a clue what they look like. If you're gonna give us the name, then you need to describe them and give out a few handy specs as to why we should care about what would otherwise be a trite info dump.

There are only 3 VAs which can do Rachel, namely Asami Imai, Rie Kugimiya and Ayanyan. I could factor in Rie Tanaka too, but I think she should be more reserved for mature sounding characters.

I'm not that familiar with Asami (Didn't see Camp or play Idolmaster) and ditto on Tanaka, so I'd say we could always use a bit more Meena Trinity. :3

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

With regards to the bullpup, I chose it because it looks cool, but IRL the SAR-21 is a crap weapon (you will know after you served in a coarse-mud/saltwater unit...trust me).

5 years ago, I was in a combat service unit, and I already know its a useless bunny only good for its sex appeal!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I am modelling it so that it has the following specs :

1. The fat handguard with the laser-sight is actually a EM-accelerator coil.2. The LAD is a SACLOS system used for guiding the RPGs, which work with a soft-launch system (two motor propulsion).3. I threw out the scope-carry handle an replaced it with a guidance ACOG. Used for launching the RPG.4. RPGs are launched from the barrel like a rifle grenade, but with its own propulsion system.

Conventional rounds with cartridges are used. 40-round box magazine, can be reloaded with a nanite-reconstructor. RPGs are limited ammo weaponry, however.

That sounds like an improvement.

What is it called? I named-dropped the bullpup rifle to be a SISAR-21 in my profile, and since its a standard issue weapon I suppose that all Singapore IS will have it. So can I use these stats for my profile too?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

That gun can be held by a normal human being wearing regular non-IS powered armor.

So that means the NSF servicemen will have this weapon on top of their digital print powered armor. As expected from ST Engine.

Also, I dreamed up a minimum armor mode for Merlion, namely the SBO, which is just applying the ADB around the user and boosting the user strength to 30% IS armor level. This allows the user to wield the SISAR-21 with both hands as though she was in SIR power armor, when she's in say school uniform. Allows the user to operate in constrained spaces where a IS may be too large for.

In FBO mode, the wielder can use the weapon, now relatively smaller to the armored body, one-handed like a mecha rifle.

What do you think?

~~~~~~

Also, I incorporated some ideas from your profile into mine with regards to Singapore and the existence of multiple representatives. I've stated that there's 4 reps in ISA atm, so we have room for 2 more of us. Hope you don't mind.

~~~~~~

EDIT:

Spoiler for Some food for thought:

Now I've been hunting high and low for a link between the country reps with personal units who appear in canon thus far. At first I thot it was Hetalia, or some WW2 fetish that Japan had been into lately, but no real definition existed.

It was during a discussion about how many IS cores are there left for the ISA to use, when I brought up the idea that IS cores would probably been entrusted to only those countries stable enough to prevent their cores from being stolen. This led me to wiki the NNPT:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT or NNPT) is a treaty to limit the spread (proliferation) of nuclear weapons. The treaty came into force on 5 March 1970, and currently there are 189 states party to the treaty, five of which are recognized as nuclear weapon states: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China (also the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council).

See something? I know I did. That would mean that we will very likely have a US rep and a Russian rep join Ichika's harem in future.

Which then takes us to...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Four non-parties to the treaty are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons: India, Pakistan and North Korea have openly tested and declared that they possess nuclear weapons, while Israel has had a policy of opacity regarding its own nuclear weapons program.

I seriously doubt the author, or Japan for that matter, is that progressive to consider featuring 2 dark-skinned nations, and hope to still sell. So that's Japan's ownership of IS, and their symbiotic (and often fetished about) cousin Germany covered. You could even argue flimsily I suppose that the troubled nature of Japan's and Germany's representatives history with IS was an allusion to turmultuous Indian and Pakistani experience with nuclear power. The German rep was even after Japan rep's life. Just like the two neighbours, don't you think?

North Korea may or may not appear, but I reckon that the author has taken to use "rogue states" instead in this analogy. These states are represented by Phantom Task and/or the unmanned IS manufacturers who created the cores illegally, if they weren't the same party.

So... Where does Singapore fit in? We're analogous to Israel in many ways, and our militaries have braved lots of hot water just to stay in close contact with each other. I'd say, for the OC thread, The United Federation of Singapore fills the role played by Israel in the NNPT. The size of our IS program would have been the worst kept secret in the world!

5 years ago, I was in a combat service unit, and I already know its a useless bunny only good for its sex appeal!

I was planning to add some fail-jokes into the fanfic, like how the plastic mag cannot be taken out due to it melting in the well, an expended casing getting stuck in the ejection port, and the LAD failing to fire up due to circuiting problems.

Quote:

That sounds like an improvement.

What is it called? I named-dropped the bullpup rifle to be a SISAR-21 in my profile, and since its a standard issue weapon I suppose that all Singapore IS will have it. So can I use these stats for my profile too?

I was meaning to use it as a limited edition version, IS handled weapon. It is called ME:ISTER (Metropolis Engineering : ISTactical Engagement Rifle), since Singapore is better known as the Metropolis after the main island sank underwater due to global warming.

Quote:

So that means the NSF servicemen will have this weapon on top of their digital print powered armor. As expected from ST Engine.

I was planning to give them a smaller exoskeleton based on the RIG of Dead Space, and the exos will be slightly smaller than an IS, but still be able to use a smaller ME:ISTER firing the same rounds.

The ME:ISTER cannot be summoned so the funny thing is, Rachel carries it with her all the time, and pulls it out of the unthinkable places all the time.

Quote:

Also, I dreamed up a minimum armor mode for Merlion, namely the SBO, which is just applying the ADB around the user and boosting the user strength to 30% IS armor level. This allows the user to wield the SISAR-21 with both hands as though she was in SIR power armor, when she's in say school uniform. Allows the user to operate in constrained spaces where a IS may be too large for.

In FBO mode, the wielder can use the weapon, now relatively smaller to the armored body, one-handed like a mecha rifle.

What do you think?

The thing to be made unique about Metro IS-es is modularity, interchangeable parts to adapt the IS into different combat situation. Starwright is Generation 3.5 with Magaru and the powerplant specially built for it (Gen 4 had a much larger reserve power output, so Houki can use the Magaru without the powerplant), so the powerplant is repurposed for the Cosmic Shroud pack.

The Moonfang units are simply copied Blue Tears technology which are unable to fire lasers, but rather, rely on torque and simple Physics in a form of boomerangs.

Finally, Starwright is not a state-sponsored but privatised project, that initially formed the basis of later Metro mass-manufactured IS-es. I am putting alot of mysteries behind Starwright.

Quote:

Also, I incorporated some ideas from your profile into mine with regards to Singapore and the existence of multiple representatives. I've stated that there's 4 reps in ISA atm, so we have room for 2 more of us. Hope you don't mind.

Sure. I am using Starwright to tell a story of how bureaucracy and backdoor wrangling by politicians cause trouble. After all if the politicians are fighting, it is the corporations who will take over, and people will suffer.

You could take the other side of the equation though.

__________________

When three puppygirls named after pastries are on top of each other, it is called Eclair a'la menthe et Biscotti aux fraises avec beaucoup de Ricotta sur le dessus.
Most of all, you have to be disciplined and you have to save, even if you hate our current financial system. Because if you don't save, then you're guaranteed to end up with nothing.

Concerning my IS Frame design and such, I managed to secure something unpublished from the IS Magazine itself.

Spoiler for Unpublished item from STRATOMAG's IS Collections:

It is not sure if this frame exists as of the moment- but the 1g Adarna Frame is currently undergoing "special maintenance"- as per insider information. Coincidentally, "Maria Antonia" is currently studying in the Academy as the one of the two Philippine Representatives.

Concerning my IS Frame design and such, I managed to secure something unpublished from the IS Magazine itself.

Spoiler for Unpublished item from STRATOMAG's IS Collections:

It is not sure if this frame exists as of the moment- but the 1g Adarna Frame is currently undergoing "special maintenance"- as per insider information. Coincidentally, "Maria Antonia" is currently studying in the Academy as the one of the two Philippine Representatives.

Electric weapons are banned under the rules of the Alaska treaty since it harms the pilot directly and prevents the Absolute Barrier from activating

Seriously why are these things a thread to organized militaries again? There firepower displayed is no more then say aircraft weapons, the weapon systems they use are by canon stated to be built using contemporary technology (which is clearly more advanced see the bubble shield in Ep 4 which isn’t even vaguely linked to an IS), and apparently electrical weapons can totally bypass there defenses and just kill the pilot. Yeah this might require some adaption, but these things are looking less and less like something that alter the balance of power by the second...

Actually it makes me want to make an OC whose primary purpose is to be a skeptic that goes around pointing out how inane the various series sacred cows are. You know what fuck it that’s what I’m going to do.

The Snarking Chronicles Volume 1: Rachael wearily shrugged off her coat as she returned to her room for the evening. Today had been a long day, what with random ape like robots blasting there way onto campus and assault students and all. Well at least the kiddies had cleaned up the mess and kept you and the other instructors from having to dirty up your hands. Anyway now it was time to grab something unhealthy and processed from the fridge and zone out in front of the TV as was traditional among your people…

Alas she was instead greeted by a most unwanted irritation in the form of a cell phone buzzing on the kitchen counter. Wearily retrieving the device a quick look at the number confirmed who she suspected was on the other end. Still figuring she’d have to get it over with she flipped it open and answered.

“I figured you’d be calling sometime soon.” She announced sing-song as she tossed her onto a nearby chair.

“If you figured I’d be calling why didn’t you have your damn phone on you?” A male voice growled back irritably.

“Because I didn’t feel like dealing with you until I had too obviously.” She replied nonchalantly flopping down on her couch and turning on her TV to start flipping through channels. “Crap, crap, crap…” She mumbled disregarding each channel as it came and went.

“So, are you going to tell me about it?” He asked expectantly.

“Tell you about what? You’ve gotta be a bit more specific spooky.” She replied airily and using a nickname she knew well he disliked.

“What the hell do you think?” He grumbled irritably.

“Well despite you’re failure to clarify I’m going to guess you’re wanting to know about that robot ape that made a mess out of one the arenas and a pair of students earlier today.” She remarked absently finally settling for some documentary about an old war on the TV.

“If you have the time yes I’d be interested in hearing about it.” He replied acidicly.

“Well I don’t know a ton since they’re trying to sweep it under the rug of course; it’s rather funny to watch really.” She began lazily.

“I’m sure it is, but what do you know?” He sighed wearily.

“I know that they only seemed to get really paranoid about it when they hauled it off into a lab and cut it up. Then they came out and started telling everyone it was classified, information not to leave the school, etc.” She shrugged.

“So it had a core then?” The man surmised.

“Something awfully similar at least I reckon. All they’re saying publicly at the moment is that an ‘unknown unit’ attacked the school. Of course all the other spies have I’m sure already reported this back t there own superiors so everyone already knows anyway.” She added sardonically.

Seriously this place was full of more spies and foreign agents then a Bond flick. Allot of them didn’t even bother to really even try and hide the fact they were basically still working for their home governments either. At best they paid lip service to putting loyalty to the school first, and then there were others who barely even did that. Honestly it was all rather farcical when you got down to it, as this supposed school of international cooperation was really nothing more then just another arena for pursing national interests and factionalism.

“Well that’s to be expected even if it is a bit annoying.” The man shrugged back.

“Any leads on where that thing actually came from?”

“Not really; although I doubt it was a national program since such a crass and pointless display would draw unwanted attention and serve no useful purpose.”

“Actually I think you could say that about basically anyone.” Rachael shot back.

“True, having reviewed footage I have to admit I’m scratching my head as to what however sent that thing hoped to accomplish... Well besides blatantly exposing their existence and ability to produce some of the most advanced weapons on the planet.”

“It’s probably some random terrorist group with delusions that having a few advanced weapons will somehow let them rule the world, or they might just be wanting to sell the stuff and thought this would make a good sales pitch.”

“Could you at least take this a bit seriously?” The man sighed wearily.

“I am serious; mark my words once this all shakes out the motive for these guys is going to end up being stupid.” She replied completely genuinely.

“So would you prefer the heavily armed terrorist group be clever and subtle then?” He countered sarcastically.

“Would be a nice change of pace at least.” She mused casually.

“Regardless how about a few more details about what happened earlier?”

“Fine, fine…” She grumbled launching into a more through report on the days events.

Though now I imagine Rachel going through various... attempts to define a key phrase to activate Starwright and henshin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I was planning to add some fail-jokes into the fanfic, like how the plastic mag cannot be taken out due to it melting in the well, an expended casing getting stuck in the ejection port, and the LAD failing to fire up due to circuiting problems.

Someone in my camp had a broken firing pin. XD

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I was meaning to use it as a limited edition version, IS handled weapon. It is called ME:ISTER (Metropolis Engineering : ISTactical Engagement Rifle), since Singapore is better known as the Metropolis after the main island sank underwater due to global warming.

I certainly believe so, as the floating island is a technological marvel. Karon grew up in the Southern Australis mining states, a 3rd generation migrant from Singapore after the island became submerged, so she refers to Singapore as the Federation. Though it annoys her to sometimes have to quantate that by refering to the Metro. Given the endless haggling and puzzling decrees coming out of the capital, it is little wonder that residents Australis think rather low of it. Especially when the Three Diagram computer is what's doing most of the groundwork.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I was planning to give them a smaller exoskeleton based on the RIG of Dead Space, and the exos will be slightly smaller than an IS, but still be able to use a smaller ME:ISTER firing the same rounds.

The ME:ISTER cannot be summoned so the funny thing is, Rachel carries it with her all the time, and pulls it out of the unthinkable places all the time.

Agreed, that would mean that the STE team's SISAR-21 is a related rifle, but again taken in a different direction to Metro thinking. Its like the SAR-21 version that has rails for mounting gadgets versus the stock one you used for MEISTER.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

The thing to be made unique about Metro IS-es is modularity, interchangeable parts to adapt the IS into different combat situation. Starwright is Generation 3.5 with Magaru and the powerplant specially built for it (Gen 4 had a much larger reserve power output, so Houki can use the Magaru without the powerplant), so the powerplant is repurposed for the Cosmic Shroud pack.

The Moonfang units are simply copied Blue Tears technology which are unable to fire lasers, but rather, rely on torque and simple Physics in a form of boomerangs.

Finally, Starwright is not a state-sponsored but privatised project, that initially formed the basis of later Metro mass-manufactured IS-es. I am putting alot of mysteries behind Starwright.

...is I just me, or are the Night Elf references for real here?

Now I get it, Starwright works like a Strike Gundam, interchangeable packs!

And no problems about hiding secrets in there. Its starting to look like Starwright is a different project from STE's version altogether. Which is even better, the MDF going one way while the SAF is going in another. I doubt there'd be a head-on clash, but it will create friction between the Federation's reps, and play into the "size of Metro's IS program is the world's worst kept secret" bits.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Sure. I am using Starwright to tell a story of how bureaucracy and backdoor wrangling by politicians cause trouble. After all if the politicians are fighting, it is the corporations who will take over, and people will suffer.

You could take the other side of the equation though.

I'm approaching from ground level actually. The side of "what the hell are the brass doing", that was more of the feeling I get from the country these days. Things are working fine, because everyone wants to keep the status quo going, but there's this nagging doubt that it might buckle and undo everything.

Because of that, Karon is working at her Rep status to break into the political circle and take control of a country slowing coming out of its recent stellar rise. It is reflected in her IS as well. STE made the first 3 IS to specialize in close, medium and long range engagements, leaving the 4th one as a reserve core for R&D by the megacorp. Other state companies objected the waste of a core (and wanted it for themselves), the politicians made a lot of hot air from both sides of the argument, nothing happened for a while. It was when an Australis engineer proposed to build the 4th as a support unit that could to a limited extent fill the roles of the 1st three, and practically did everything except actual manufacturing, was Merlion okay'd to be constructed.

Karon wants to be that influence, because true she wants power but if its good for the country there's nothing wrong with desiring power.

Note that the Starwright was not built by STE; it was a parallel project by Temasek Holdings built from the IS cores that were transferred to Singapore behind closed doors. Several such units exist, each built by different government-linked corporations, but little information is available about them.

Just going to run it by you, Saintess, I mentioned Starwright in my profile, but I may have gotten the GLC wrong.

EDIT2:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tk3997

*reads over the thread and has something catch his eye*

Seriously why are these things a threat to organized militaries again? There firepower displayed is no more then say aircraft weapons, the weapon systems they use are by canon stated to be built using contemporary technology (which is clearly more advanced see the bubble shield in Ep 4 which isn’t even vaguely linked to an IS), and apparently electrical weapons can totally bypass there defenses and just kill the pilot. Yeah this might require some adaption, but these things are looking less and less like something that alter the balance of power by the second...

Its just one of those things that are mentioned in theory but seldom put into practice. As long as you don't get caught, or people can't touch you, you can do whatever you want, which is probably one of the underlying threads of the series.

Gosh, this just reminded me of NANOHA STRIKERS, but with HAREM!! XD XD XD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tk3997

Actually it makes me want to make an OC whose primary purpose is to be a skeptic that goes around pointing out how inane the various series sacred cows are. You know what fuck it that’s what I’m going to do.

The Snarking Chronicles Volume 1: Rachael wearily shrugged off her coat as she returned to her room for the evening. Today had been a long day, what with random ape like robots blasting there way onto campus and assault students and all. Well at least the kiddies had cleaned up the mess and kept you and the other instructors from having to dirty up your hands. Anyway now it was time to grab something unhealthy and processed from the fridge and zone out in front of the TV as was traditional among your people…

Alas she was instead greeted by a most unwanted irritation in the form of a cell phone buzzing on the kitchen counter. Wearily retrieving the device a quick look at the number confirmed who she suspected was on the other end. Still figuring she’d have to get it over with she flipped it open and answered.

“I figured you’d be calling sometime soon.” She announced sing-song as she tossed her onto a nearby chair.

“If you figured I’d be calling why didn’t you have your damn phone on you?” A male voice growled back irritably.

“Because I didn’t feel like dealing with you until I had too obviously.” She replied nonchalantly flopping down on her couch and turning on her TV to start flipping through channels. “Crap, crap, crap…” She mumbled disregarding each channel as it came and went.

“So, are you going to tell me about it?” He asked expectantly.

“Tell you about what? You’ve gotta be a bit more specific spooky.” She replied airily and using a nickname she knew well he disliked.

“What the hell do you think?” He grumbled irritably.

“Well despite you’re failure to clarify I’m going to guess you’re wanting to know about that robot ape that made a mess out of one the arenas and a pair of students earlier today.” She remarked absently finally settling for some documentary about an old war on the TV.

“If you have the time yes I’d be interested in hearing about it.” He replied acidicly.

“Well I don’t know a ton since they’re trying to sweep it under the rug of course; it’s rather funny to watch really.” She began lazily.

“I’m sure it is, but what do you know?” He sighed wearily.

“I know that they only seemed to get really paranoid about it when they hauled it off into a lab and cut it up. Then they came out and started telling everyone it was classified, information not to leave the school, etc.” She shrugged.

“So it had a core then?” The man surmised.

“Something awfully similar at least I reckon. All they’re saying publicly at the moment is that an ‘unknown unit’ attacked the school. Of course all the other spies have I’m sure already reported this back t there own superiors so everyone already knows anyway.” She added sardonically.

Seriously this place was full of more spies and foreign agents then a Bond flick. Allot of them didn’t even bother to really even try and hide the fact they were basically still working for their home governments either. At best they paid lip service to putting loyalty to the school first, and then there were others who barely even did that. Honestly it was all rather farcical when you got down to it, as this supposed school of international cooperation was really nothing more then just another arena for pursing national interests and factionalism.

“Well that’s to be expected even if it is a bit annoying.” The man shrugged back.

“Any leads on where that thing actually came from?”

“Not really; although I doubt it was a national program since such a crass and pointless display would draw unwanted attention and serve no useful purpose.”

“Actually I think you could say that about basically anyone.” Rachael shot back.

“True, having reviewed footage I have to admit I’m scratching my head as to what however sent that thing hoped to accomplish... Well besides blatantly exposing their existence and ability to produce some of the most advanced weapons on the planet.”

“It’s probably some random terrorist group with delusions that having a few advanced weapons will somehow let them rule the world, or they might just be wanting to sell the stuff and thought this would make a good sales pitch.”

“Could you at least take this a bit seriously?” The man sighed wearily.

“I am serious; mark my words once this all shakes out the motive for these guys is going to end up being stupid.” She replied completely genuinely.

“So would you prefer the heavily armed terrorist group be clever and subtle then?” He countered sarcastically.

“Would be a nice change of pace at least.” She mused casually.

“Regardless how about a few more details about what happened earlier?”

“Fine, fine…” She grumbled launching into a more through report on the days events.

It is already understood that ISA exists not for international cooperation but for factionalism. This is why Ichika is the only force to unifying the world, with HAREM.

Seriously why are these things a thread to organized militaries again? There firepower displayed is no more then say aircraft weapons, the weapon systems they use are by canon stated to be built using contemporary technology (which is clearly more advanced see the bubble shield in Ep 4 which isn’t even vaguely linked to an IS), and apparently electrical weapons can totally bypass there defenses and just kill the pilot. Yeah this might require some adaption, but these things are looking less and less like something that alter the balance of power by the second...

Last page James quoted a novel reader, which went something along the lines of "Apparently the IS could move faster than ICBMs, pilot can see everything in slow motion(similar to vanquish), they not affected by G-force so no fear of black-out/red-out and a 100% optical camouflage system. So when IS was first unveiled A single IS was able to stop a war by shooting down 2437 missiles, 207 fighter jets , disable/immobilize 5 aircraft carriers and all their naval escorts and vaporized 8 spy satellites that was tracking its movement."